8th Congressional Primary Endorsement

Tomorrow in the 8th Congressional District voters will choose a Democratic nominee between eleven term incumbent Jim Moran and challenger Bruce Shuttleworth.

Let's first discuss the incumbent.

There have been a number of personal allegations thrown at Moran during his time in office, including assaulting a child (who Moran said was trying to carjack him), allegations of abuse with his now ex-wife, and even a newspaper report of two women fighting on his front lawn on his birthday.  I don't take any of this into account with Moran because we don't know what is true and what is not.

There are other issues with Moran that we do know about that trouble me much more than the personal stuff.  The $25,000 unsecured loan from a drug lobbyist.  More recently his relationship with Paul Magliocchetti, a defense lobbyist currently in prison for sending hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal contributions to members of Congress.  Melissa Koloszar, Moran's former Chief of Staff worked for Magliocchetti and started her own firm after his indictment with some of the same clients she was working with before.  Moran has put in numerous earmarks for Melissa's clients since then as a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.  When I attempted to get more information on this from Moran's office a couple years ago they stonewalled and tried to hide basic details about the entire situation.  If Moran had nothing to hide or be ashamed of here he certainly didn't act like that.

Now as we discuss Moran it's also important to note that he has voted the right way on most issues in Congress, especially recently.  He helped found the "New Democrats" when he was elected, and spent his first decade in Congress as a more conservative to moderate type Democrat, but as his district has shifted to be much more liberal, Moran has shifted left with it.  Just this weekend at one of the county JJ dinners in his district I heard Moran say that he wasn't just a Democrat, he was a liberal.  That's good, although that hasn't always been the case.

One other issue that troubles me about Moran is how he treats his seat and the perks that come with it as a family business.  He has two family members on his campaign payroll currently.  CREW had a report about members of Congress that do this- it's unethical and should be outlawed.  Speaking of family, Moran has worked hard to position his brother Brian Moran as his replacement whenever he retires.  Brian is currently both the Chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia, and the head of government affairs for the for-profit college lobby that President Obama is working hard to crack down on.

I could go on and on here, but looking at the total picture, I'm open to a primary challenger.

That having been said, Bruce Shuttleworth hasn't done anything in this campaign that tells us much about who he is.  His speaking to the Falls Church Republican Committee makes me very nervous about supporting him when he has no other track record of political involvement.  Bruce is asking voters- even ones not happy with Moran- to make a huge leap of faith that he someone we can trust with an important vote in Congress in what will probably be a very closely divided chamber after November.  I haven't seen anything from Bruce that makes me want to take that leap of faith on his behalf.  Bruce says he is a progressive Democrat, but there is no evidence of that whatsoever besides his own words.

So tomorrow, I'm going to go to the polls and vote for the Alexandria City Council and leave my Congressional primary ballot blank. 

I'll vote for whichever candidate wins the nomination tomorrow in November  because the most important vote that either candidate would cast would be for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker on the first day of the next Congress. 

Moran will probably win this with over 80% of the vote, but I don't vote for who I think will win- my vote only goes to people I can believe in.  Sadly for this primary tomorrow, that is neither candidate.

Comments

[Cragg Hines]

A strong, assured vote for Jim Moran tomorrow is the only logical action for a progressive Democrat. How odd that you're willing to consider the pig-in-a-poke option of waiting until November. It's whimsical at best (and more likely perverse) for someone who is interested up front in the vote for speaker, which is the first vote any member casts each session. WE HAVE NO ASSURANCE that the first word out of Shuttleworth's mouth on the floor would be "Pelosi." Without that assurance and several more important ones, abstaining in the 8th District race is untenable.

[Israel Voter]

Although I am extremely progressive politically, there is no way I could ever vote for Jim Moran after his attacks on Israel.

Support AIPAC or no vote.

[Not Larry Sabato]

Cragg, I'm compelled by your argument that we don't know for sure what Shuttleworth would do- but do we ever really know that about any candidate that isn't an incumbent?

[Just Sayin']

Does anyone notice the ridiculous situation Americans are in regarding Israel - where the Israeli policies and actions can be criticized in Israel but not in America?

[A VIRGINIA Voter]

Screw AIPAC. Who is running this country anyway? AIPAC does not have America's interests at heart at all, and frankly isn't making good decisions about Israel's future either. So thanks, Israel voter - because of your inane statement now I'm going to drag myself to the polls and vote Moran.

[AndrewHWK]

Considering that Shuttleworth had a former member of the Nation of Islam making robocalls on his behalf, I don't think you're going to find a very good supporter of Israel in this race. Not to mention, his campaign manager, who, in a bizarre turn, was a candidate for UK PARLIAMENT recently (!??!?), is on record supporting sanctions against Israel and assistance to Palestine (not sure if they mean the Hamas-controlled sectors or not).

Knowing this, I think Moran might actually be better for the self-determination of Israel and its defense against Hamas et al, simply by not having overly anti-Israel and even anti-Semitic persons working on his behalf. People like that don't belong in the Democratic Party and they don't need to be representing this region.

On the other hand, I don't want to vote for Moran because a vote for him supports Brian by proxy.

I'll write-in or leave it blank.

[Seth Morrison]

I am a Moran constituent and supporter of Israel and have met with him and his staff a number of times on Israel and Palestinian issues. I can say from strong personal experience that Rep. Moran is a true friend of Israel, the Jewish people and the Palestinian people.

Like me and many other Jews, Moran supports a two-state solution, an end to the occupation and freedom and justice for all peoples in the region. He is not afraid to criticize Israel but that is what true friends are for. No one needs blind followers, we need good friends who help us navigate through tough times.

Tomorrow I will proudly vote for Jim Moran in the primary and then get to work helping him win in November.

[AndrewHWK]

If that's the case, then Brian is still my biggest stumbling block.

Ugh.

[Fairfax420 (the precinct, not pot)]

I've voted for Moran in the past including in every primary. I have volunteered in his campaigns. I will not be voting for him tomorrow. At the state convention last weekend I saw his campaign manager Mary Moran celebrating the results as we were leaving. As a voter I sat there for five hours to vote for the candidates I wanted only to have that taken away by Brian Moran. Mary's celebration told me all I need to know about the Moran's. My vote didn't matter, only theirs did. So no more Moran's for me.

[Spock]

Shuttleworth sounds like a Republican plant, and his statements are from both sides of his mouth like:

A. he is Mr. Military, military hero, Mr. WARRIOR, he has worked very closely in defense contracting.

But then:

B. he is Mr. Anti-war PROGRESSIVE, claims to want to cut spending on defense contractors.

The interesting thing about him is all the $$$'s pouring in from Dick, Stein, Shapiro who is just butt hurt over the fact that they were at one time big supporters of *ewwww* STAN PARIS and Moran ousted the nasty ol' porcine.

Moar details here:

http://kingstowne.patch.com/articles/shuttleworth-s-most-generous-donors

[Erin B-C]

Who cares? Moran has this in the bag. I'm more interested in your thoughts on tomorrow's Alexandria City Council Democratic Primary.

[paul vogel]

I voted for Jim, and one of the reasons why is the incredible constituent service his office displayed in early 2008 when I had a dispute with Kaiser permenante over the copay of a newly declared "tier 4" medicine.I was looking at a $325 a month copay, and so were 800 others .When you can marshall those kind of numbers, you need an experience congressman.

[just the fats]

It doesn't matter if they are Jew-haters. For one thing, they couch their prejudice in terms of opposition to Israeli policies (even though they give other countries a pass for doing the same thing). More importantly, Ben has shown that he is more than willing to "bend over" for these kinds of people.

[Planchas ghd]

La barra de chocolate caliente tradicional no sólo efectos graves para la salud del cabello, nudo cabello seco, pero de lejos, el pelo quemaduras que pesa sobre sus hombros rígidos